Thursday, June 30, 2016

Hole Punch for Kids: Problem Solved!

I've been using these with my kids...


They are, honestly, horrible.  Okay.  Maybe MINE are horrible.  The "legs" are too far apart for little hands and often the punch isn't lined up with the bottom hole.  It's been hit or miss but mostly miss with my class using them.

It's been an increasing problem because I do way more activities that require using one like with these...







My kids LOVE using a hole punch to retell stories and, bless their little hearts, will put all their might into making the hole punch above work for them.  (Some kids took me up on the suggestion to simply use a highlighter instead!)  


BUT....a solution is here!  I went to Staples and found these in the CLEARANCE BIN for 50 Cents!  FIFTY CENTS!



They had HUNDREDS OF THEM!  Only in black but they are SO GOOD and EASY to use that I cannot complain or whine about the lack of colors!  The kids will have NO PROBLEM using these. They truly are perfect for little hands... The page below is updated in packet to say PUNCH or HIGHLIGHT the square.


And big hands!  Seriously, I feel like I hit the lottery!  Since I was overly excited, my husband said he wanted to test one out.  His verdict: "I need some of these for school, too!"  
Maybe I'll give him one of mine!  :)

Go get yours at Staples today before they sell out!  


Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Free Duckie Pirate Calendar Set

Honestly, I'm so grateful each time I see a new follower on this Blog. Something must be in the water because I've had 26 new follower notifications in the last two weeks....not sure why but THANKS!  To show my appreciation, I'm going to put these Pirate Duckies up for free.


English and Spanish!
Numbers up to 50 so you can use in centers and for various activities!


I hope you can use them.  Enjoy!

Edited to Add:  I just made two three more sets.  Check them out in my store!

              


Sunday, June 26, 2016

Teacher Printing Woes: Problem Solved!

My printer has been on its last "print out" for about a year now.  Honestly, when I printed, I never knew if it would take a minute or twenty to print ONE document. 

Sometimes I had to turn my computer on and off.  Needless to say, it was stressful ESPECIALLY if one of my kids needed something last minute.  And my printer was LOUD!

But as of 45 minutes ago, I BOUGHT A NEW PRINTER (HP ENVY 4520) for only $69 at Staples. THAT WAS EASY!.  (GREAT REVIEWS!)

Its not just any printer, but one that would enable me to enroll in the HP Insta Ink Program that I just found out about a few days ago in the TpT Forums. 

As a teacher, I think it's IDEAL and I'm hoping I'm right!  Teachers rave about the program and I already foresee COLOR printing everywhere in my classroom including game boards and center activities where I often printed in B&W due to CRAZY color cartridges expense. (For those of you able to print in color at school, Lucky, Lucky you!)  

You see,  COLOR MAKES ME HAPPY!



I signed up for the 300 (!!!) pages a month.  Yep- a lot of pages but since I "only" pay 9.99 a month and only $120 a year, I think it's a STEAL!  No paying for INK! (You pay for pages copied...it doesn't matter if in color or in BW)  It gets delivered to me.  I see lots of COLORED leveled books from Reading A-Z in my future!

Setup was a cinch: 20 minutes later, I printed a few documents from my computer and a beautiful picture from my phone!  Yep- all wireless with, HONESTLY, a click of a few buttons.  (I didn't even have to put in my wifi code!)

The Insta Ink program has been around for at least 18 months but it's new to me. Knowing I spent way over $120 on ink last year allowed me to make a no-brainer decision.  And I'm FINALLY going to start digital scrapbooking!  Yipee!

I'll check in after a few months (came with THREE month FREE trial period and let you know how it's going.) with a real USER review.  In the meantime, if you need a new printer and have a need to print out lots of colored photos and documents, I think it's worth looking into.  (NOTE:  you can pay 2.99 for 50 copies a month as well as a few other plans.)

Gotta run!  Off to print out some pics!!!